1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control lever assembly in a self-propelled lawn mower, and more particularly to such a control level assembly having a first control lever for controlling a clutch for disconnectably transmitting power to driving wheels of the self-propelled lawn mower, and a second control lever for controlling another clutch for disconnectably transmitting power to a grass-cutting blade.
2. Description of the Prior Art
One known type of self-propelled rotary lawn mower, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 54-115363, has a first control lever mounted on a handle for connecting and disconnecting a first clutch for driving wheels of the lawn mower, and a second control lever mounted on the handle in juxtaposed relation to the first control lever for connecting and disconnecting a second clutch for controlling the operation of a grass-cutting blade. In operation, the first control lever is actuated in a direction to connect the first clutch until it engages a projection on the second control lever. Then, the continued movement of the first control lever causes the second control lever to be actuated in a direction to connect the second clutch. Therefore, the grass-cutting blade is rotated while the lawn mower is moving along simply by operating the first control lever only. The prior lawn mower is however disadvantageous in that the second control lever is necessarily actuated at all times when the first control lever is operated upon. When it is desired to move the lawn mower for dumping off the cut grass or simply toward another location requiring grass cutting, it is not necessary to rotate the blade and the second and hence first control levers should be brought into the inoperative position. Consequently, the lawn mower must be manually moved around as the first clutch remains disconnected.
The present invention has been made in an effort to overcome the foregoing prior problem.